Salvation Army Using Bell-Ringer Cutouts

[Rose Siding]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- There's a reason that smiling Salvation Army bell-ringer looks a little stiff this Christmas season, and it's not the cold weather.

Banned from Target stores and faced with a shortage of holiday volunteers, the Salvation Army is using scores of animated, cardboard bell-ringers on a test basis to staff its red donation kettles in stores across the South.

Equipped with motion sensors, each corrugated cutout has a battery-operated, motorized arm that waves a silent cardboard bell. Anyone who draws near hears a loud, jingling sound from a speaker and a cheery "Merry Christmas, God bless you."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-fake-bell-ringers,0,3875141.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[kittycat1164]

1. God how sad is that? n/t

[BattyDem]

2. Do the cutouts discriminate too?

Note to cutout: I donate my money to organizations that support diversity and equal rights for all.